Misconceptions about natural selection and adaptation :
But its not random either!
So it is a misconception to view natural selection as a process that perfects organisms. At the opposite extreme, natural selection is sometimes interpreted as a random process. This is also a misconception. The genetic variation that occurs in a population because of mutation is random but selection acts on that variation in a very non-random way: genetic variants that aid survival and reproduction are much more likely to become common than variants that don't. Natural selection is not random!
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A population of organisms undergoes random mutation and non-random selection. The result is
non-random evolutionary change. |
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